


School's In

by htbthomas



Category: The Good Place (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Birthday Fic Challenge 2017, F/M, First Meetings, It all makes sense if you know the show, Kinda, Kissing, for sure, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-09
Updated: 2017-04-09
Packaged: 2018-10-16 15:10:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10573875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/htbthomas/pseuds/htbthomas
Summary: Eleanor and her first day at the exclusive TGP Academy. Her admission was a mistake, naturally.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [blithers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blithers/gifts).



> Happy birthday, blithers! Her prompt was: “The Good Place, a high school AU (Michael does a “high school is hell” theme? Or a straight-up AU?)”

"All of you are the best of the best," the principal is saying, some white-haired dude wearing a wireless mic on his face like this is a TED Talk, or a community theater production of _Oliver!_ "Our highly selective screening process has chosen you" —he points around the gathered students in the auditorium, which, honestly, is really nice compared to the shit hole she attended for junior high. No 'Caitlyn sucks cock' scrawled in marker on the back of the seats or fraying and lumpy 1970s green plush seating— "for the new freshman class of 2017. You'll each be paired with a peer mentor, who will help you adjust to your new life at TGP Academy."

There's a pleased murmur, and Eleanor looks around at the faces in the seats around her. Oo, hot Asian alert two rows back. Nice. Maybe she'll be paired with him.

"Have a great first day!" the principal says, with a dorky little fist pump. Everyone starts to get up, talking in pairs, introducing themselves, or studying their new class schedule. Not Eleanor. She barely glanced at hers. She isn't planning to follow it, so why bother?

After all, she isn't supposed to be here. What a huge fucking mistake.

Pretty soon, they'll figure it out and send her back to Adobe High School, where she actually belongs and where she'll likely spend a good majority of the day smoking pot in the bathroom or behind the maintenance shed until someone notices and kicks her out. Or doesn't, she's a white girl and they can collect the state money on her as long as she's enrolled.

She looks around for a side exit, somewhere she can sneak out and maybe find a bathroom, because that pot smoking idea sounds fantastic right now, but suddenly there's a tap on her shoulder and the sound of a throat being cleared.

"Excuse me," the voice says, male, presumably belonging to the person with the tapping hand and the clearing throat. Brilliant. Yeah, she really belongs here, what an Einstein-ette.

Eleanor turns around to see a black guy in heavy-frame glasses and a button-down yellow oxford and khakis, the school uniform here. Well, she's wearing it, too, her plaid skirt rolled at the hem to show a couple more inches above the knee. And she's glad she did. There are some pretty bangable students here, like that hot Asian from the welcome assembly. Or that leggy Indian girl with the locker next to hers.

"Hi, I'm Chidi. Chidi Anagonye. I'm a sophomore here." He holds out his hand for her to shake, wearing a strikingly great, though nervous, smile.

Hmm. Here's one of those bangable students now.

She smiles back, flipping her long hair behind her shoulder. "I'm Eleanor," she says, taking his hand and moving into his personal space. She lowers her voice to a breathy whisper. "Shellstrop. I'm a freshman."

He swallows and moves back. Disappointing, but she likes a challenge. Sometimes. "Yes. I know. I'm your peer mentor."

 _This_ guy is her peer mentor? Maybe she shouldn't be in such a rush to sneak off.

"This is the library," he says as they walk down the main hallway, pointing to a large room with floor-to-ceiling windows. She can see bookshelves that extend out of sight, and computer desks across an open area.

"Any private study rooms?" she asks, throwing him a meaningful glance.

It sails right over his head. "Quite a few." He turns a corner and points toward the gym. "If you're interested in any sports, the athletic department is that way."

"Oh, I'm more a supporter than an athlete." Especially the makeouts below the bleachers type. "Do you play?"

"Me?" He shrugs his shoulders uncomfortably. "I—I played a little soccer in primary school."

"And now?"

"Now I am more into..." He glances back toward the library. "Intellectual pursuits."

She moves a little closer, laying a hand on his arm. "Only?"

He jumps as if burned. "N—no! Not only, um…" His gaze lands on the bathrooms just ahead and he squeaks, "And here are the facilities. Excuse me, I'll be just a minute…"

And he's gone, the door swinging after him. Eleanor shrugs. She's not sure why, but in her gut she knows she'll wear him down eventually. Might as well check out 'the facilities' herself. 

Not bad. Several stalls, mirrors free of graffiti, even some of those nice power hand dryers. She washes her hands and examines her reflection. Good hair day, no zits coming up, nothing in her teeth. Definitely top of her game.

Another girl comes up beside her at the mirror. Tall, brunette, pleasant smile. "I'm hot, right?" Eleanor asks, turning toward her.

"Yes." The girl's tone is clipped but polite, like a receptionist at a hotel.

"Is he gay, then?" It could explain why he's not interested.

"Who?"

"Chidi… Um." She can't remember. Started with an A or maybe an N? "Chidi the sophomore. One of the peer tutors."

"Chidi Anagonye. He is not gay. He is careful about relationships."

Hmm. That just means she'll have to make the first more. "Thanks. You've been very helpful." She lifts a hand to wave. "I'm El—"

"Eleanor Shellstrop. Incoming freshman."

"Wow, you're just full of information. And you are?"

"Janet." She suddenly has a note in her hand, which she holds out toward Eleanor. "And I believe this is yours."

Eleanor opens it with a frown. But she's intrigued. Someone is already passing her notes. She unfolds it to read: _ELEANOR, KISS CHIDI._

Her mouth opens in shock. It's her own handwriting. 

"Who…?" she asks of Janet, but when she lifts her head, Janet is gone. The door isn't even swinging back and forth. How weird.

Did she get blackout drunk the first night here and hookup with Chidi? She doesn't remember how she got here, now that she thinks about it. A lot of the past few weeks are a blur. She woke up in the principal's office this morning and was informed of her admission, then was sent to the assembly. 

Maybe that's why he's acting so deeply uncomfortable.

"Well, if I told myself to do it, then I'd better do it." She stuffs the note in her pocket and walks out of the bathroom. Chidi's waiting there for her; what a good sport. "Continue the tour?" she asks.

"Yes, there's a lot more to see before your first class."

She lets him show her the cafeteria, each academic department and even the trophy case, and by then she's despairing of finding a good place to get him alone and deliver on her instructions to herself. Then she sees a closet labeled "Maintenance" with a little plaque, and the door is ajar.

"What about this room?" she asks, taking his hand to pull him inside before he can protest. She closes the door behind them and rests against it to prevent him leaving. 

"Eleanor…" He takes a step backward, clattering into a mop bucket. "What are you doing?"

"Someone told me to kiss you," she explains, leaving out the part where it was herself, "so I'm going to."

"Who—?" he tries, but by then her mouth is on his.

He's completely still, but it's only background to her because she's gone rigid with familiarity. She only gets a moment to process that before her mind explodes with memories, lifetimes worth of memories of the two of them, sometimes together, sometimes not, always finding their way to friendship... or more. This is the afterlife, just one more version that Michael has hit them with over the years—or is it millennia? Time doesn't pass the same here.

She pulls away, blinking, and Chidi is blinking back. "Eleanor?" His voice is filled with recognition this time, not formal politeness. He must have had the same afterlife-flashing-before-your-eyes experience she had.

"Chidi." She smiles and then chuckles. "High school? Really?"

Chidi smiles back. "Guess he had to try something new this time. I mean, I don't know about you, but my high school years were pretty hellish."

"Mine, too." But she didn't have Chidi then. Or Tahani. Or Jason. 

"We figured it out the first day. The first morning. He is going to be so pissed."

"Oo, the mouth on you!" she teases. "No fucking swearing filter in this afterlife, I guess."

He blushes, and it's so adorable that she pulls him into another kiss. A long one this time. They've got some time before they need to go find the rest of the gang, and she's going to enjoy these teenage hormones while she can.


End file.
